Clemson Tigers
Atlantic Coast Conference (21-10, 7-9)
Seed: #1
South Region
Big Wins:
1/3 at Florida State (68-66), 1/20 Boston College (74-54), 3/4 at Virginia
Tech (75-74)
Bad Losses:
1/28 Virginia (63-64), 2/14 at Wake Forest (65-67), 3/8 vs Florida State
(66-67)
Coach:
Oliver Purnell
Probable
Starters:
Vernon
Hamilton, Senior, Guard, 12.3 ppg, 3.2 apg, 1.9 spg
Cliff Hammonds,
Junior, Guard, 11.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 3.2 rpg
Sam Perry,
Junior, Forward, 3.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg
James Mays,
Junior, Forward, 12.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg
Trevor Booker,
Freshman, Forward, 10.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.2 bpg
Key
Roleplayers:
K.C. River,
Sophomore, Guard, 13.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg
David Potter,
Freshman, Guard, 2.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Julius Powell,
Sophomore, Forward, 2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Raymond Sykes,
Sophomore, Forward, 2.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
The Clemson
defense can be brutal to indecisive or inexperienced guards. The Tigers will
press at almost every opportunity and they have a couple great defenders in
guards Vernon Hamilton and Cliff Hammonds. When not in man-to-man, James
Mays will use his lanky 6-9 frame to amass steal after steal at the top of
the zone. As a team, Clemson averages a great 9.5 steals per contest.
The backcourt
leadership does not end on the defensive end. Hamilton and Hammonds are both
consistent double-digit scorers and the duo does a good job of taking care
of the ball. The versatile Hammonds is a dangerous long range shooter and
Hamilton will use his quickness to get to the basket. However, the team’s
leading scorer does not even start. Sophomore guard K.C. Rivers is a
tremendous three-point shooter and is the ultimate spark off the bench.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
After starting
the season 17-0, Clemson has lost 10 of their final 14 games. The 17-0 start
may sound impressive, and it is, but the non-conference schedule was not
anything to get excited about with the best wins coming against Old Dominion
and Mississippi State. Yet, there are still some impressive ACC road
victories and Clemson will not be intimidated by anybody in the tournament.
Who To
Watch:
The frontcourt
has plenty of options with do-everything Mays, surprise fearless freshman
Trevor Booker and defensive specialist Sam Perry. And that is just the
starters. Julius Powell and Raymond Sykes are not going to help on the
offense end very much, but they will play their roles off the bench.
By the
Numbers:
Scoring
Offense: 73.2 (91st in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring
Defense: 65.3 (94, 3)
Field-Goal
Percentage: 46.7 (55, 9)
Field-Goal
Defense: 44.6 (211, 9)
Free-Throw
Percentage: 58.4 (322, 12)
Rebound Margin:
1.5 (127, 7)
Assists Per
Game: 15.5 (44, 3)
Turnovers Per
Game: 13.9 (117, 4)
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Appalachian State
▪
NIT
Capsules and Coverage
